26 September 2013

½ Czernowitzer & ½ Czernowitzer in... (Vienna - 961 km)

(Vienna, 23.09.2013 - 26.09.2013) No imagination is needed to establish a connection between Vienna and Czernowitz, which was sometimes dubbed Little Vienna, not only because its architecture is reminiscent of the Austro-Hungarian capital Vienna. Many Czernowitzers, like my grandparents too, got under shelter from WW1 as war refugees in Vienna, but let's check the connecting lines between 2 x ½ Czernowitzer a bit earlier, just at the very beginning of the 19th century!

First ½ Czernowitzer: Prof. Dr. Leon Kellner (17.04.1859 Tarnow - 05.12.1928 Vienna). Professor of English literature and one of Herzl's early friends and advisers. From 1904 to 1914 he was a professor at the University of Czernowitz, where he was very active in public life as a member of the parliament for the Jewish-National List to the Landtag. He was the founder of the Toynbee Hall in Vienna and the initiator of the Toynbee Hall in Czernowitz, which was founded by Arnold Kisslinger. Leon Kellner was father-in-law of the prominent literary critic and philosopher Walter Benjamin. Learn more on Leon Kellner by clicking on the following link for his biography (English) at Jewish Virtual Library or on the additional links for the more comprehensive biographies (German) at Deutsche Biographie and Wikipedia!

Second ½ Czernowitzer: Dipl.-Ing. Elias Hauster (09.11.1878 Radautz - 20.05.1949 Bucharest). He attended the Vienna University of Technology between 1898-1904, graduated as mechanical engineer, got his naturalization in Czernowitz in the year 1906 and became lastly municipal building officer. He retired in 1936, looking back on more than thirty years of active life. He survived the Holocaust in Czernowitz, together with his wife Marjem Hauster (Fleischer), most probably based on a Traian Popovici permit. Elias Hauster was my grandfather.

It's a mere speculation and nothing but an intellectual game, however an inspiring one, to assume, that Prof. Dr. Leon Kellner and my grandfather Elias Hauster met in the Toynbee Hall, first in Vienna and later in Czernowitz. Who knows?

Hugo Gold, History of the Jews in the Bukowina, The Oldest Societies, Institutions and Organizations of Bukovina by Prof. Dr. Erich Neuborn, Tel Aviv, p. 153: "The opening of the Jewish Orphanage, took place in 1904/1905. Already in 1898 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I, the idea of building an orphanage in Czernowitz was discussed and an executive committee was formed to raise the necessary funds. Members of this committee were among others, Markus and Rachel Schlaefer, Benjamin, David and Jetti Tittinger, Loebel and Cecilie Salter , Josef Steiner, Jakob and Toni Gold, and Dr. Benno and Fanni Straucher It wasn't until 1904, that the orphanage on Franzosgasse was completed when the Heinrich and Josefine Wagner endowment of 662,928 crowns was activated and used for the construction of the orphanage. The festive opening of the orphanage was attended by the Austrian Minister President, Dr. Ernest von Koerber, the Bukovina State President, Prinz Konrad Hohenlohe and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop and Metropolitan, Dr. Vladimir von Repta. In 1913 the orphanage was legalized for the second time as the Emperor Franz Josef Jubilee Orphanage Foundation for Israelites in Czernowitz and latter was administered by the Community. The mission of the orphanage was to raise Jewish orphans of both sexes and to train them for future employment."

2 comments:

Dear Edgar, as your grand father worked with mine Benno Schafer in Czernowitz (mine worked in vienna too, how can I find details about my grand father in Vienna ?hope your trip is going well, cheers Anny from Paris